New and upcoming Pittsburgh craft breweries sure to wet your whistle

Eight locations that beer lovers must check out

Abjuration Brewing Company

Abjuration: a repudiation or renouncement of a belief. Familiar with the term thanks to a shared love of Dungeons & Dragons, owners Tom Glover and Dave Hallam thought it a fitting name for their brewery, where they reject traditional beer styles in favor of a more experimental approach. Brewing in the back of the Parkway Theater, Abjuration is the second brewery to come to McKees Rocks (412 Brewery opened earlier this year, though it doesn’t yet have a taproom). Abjuration is still ramping up, so follow it online for information about hours and availability.

Conny Creek Brewing Company

Located in Lower Burrell, Conny Creek is one of the newest additions to the area beer scene. Husband-and-wife team Lee and Erin Layton opened the brewery in late October with an eclectic lineup of American and European styles. They opted to start small, just serving flights and pints in the taproom, but plan to add growler options and even a kitchen.

Eleventh Hour Brewing

Matt McMahon knew he wanted to open a brewery before the “eleventh hour” of his life. And earlier this fall, he did just that. After a few previous locations fell through, McMahon found a home in a former school building in Lawrenceville. Eleventh Hour serves a range of styles, from classic brown ales to experimental single-hopped pale ales. Head to the cozy taproom for a pint, grab a 32-ounce crowler to go, or find the brewery’s offerings on draft at a handful of bars around town.

Hitchhiker Brewing Company

OK, so Hitchhiker isn’t exactly new. But it did take a huge leap forward this fall with the opening of its new brewery and taproom, in Sharpsburg. With a 15-barrel brewhouse and plenty of room to grow (it occupies part of the old Fort Pitt brewery), expect to see a whole lot more Hitchhiker beer. The quality has jumped as well, as evidenced by excellent new offerings like Nowhere Everywhere Double IPA and Mashmellow Stout. The new brewery also boasts two foeders, large wooden tanks that brewer Andy Kwiatkowski will use for traditional sour beers.

Spring Hill Brewing

Spring Hill Brewing, on the North Side, has been a long time coming, but opening day is nearly in sight. Spring Hill is the dream of Mike Seamans and Greg Kamerdze, two veterans of the Pittsburgh music scene. After years of planning and searching for locations, the pair landed in the old Workingmen’s Beneficial Union Hall, in Spring Hill. The building needed a ton of work, but the space is nearly ready. Spring Hill Brewing will focus on sessionable farmhouse and Belgian-style ales, along with some ciders and mead. If all goes well, they will be open by the end of the year.

Also Brewing …

Trios Brewing: Opening in a former hardware store in Homestead, this ambitious brewpub will feature Spanish tapas and a bowling alley. Oh, and beer.

Rogan Brewing: Also slated for Homestead is Rogan Brewing, which intends to open a taproom on Eighth Avenue. The actual brewery will be located in Duquesne.

Cinderlands Beer Co.: Moving into the Butler Street space formerly occupied by Roasted, Cinderlands is a brewery and restaurant expected to open by the end of the year